Oztag hits new high in 2010

THE biggest national Oztag series in history starts today at BCU International Stadium.

Tournament director Bill Harrigan said the draw had expanded by 13 teams since the record was set last year. “This time a total of 96 teams will take part, which is just a tick under 1700 players coming into the city,” he said.

“Included are two New Zealand teams that picked up wildcards, so it’s going to be a big couple of days.

“I’ve been liaising a lot over the past few weeks with Steve Wood from the Sports Unit and all systems are go.”

Harrigan is watching the skies closely after hearing recent weekends have copped a downpour or two.

“If anything it’s the humidity that will be a bigger worry than rain,” he said.

“I can notice the difference over the time we’ve been coming here.”

Huge interest surrounds the possibility of Far North Coast over-50s defending the Rick Bourke Memorial Cup, named after the famous Cronulla Sharks fullback of the 1970s.

Bourke passed away in 2006 after a long battle with cancer and was a mate of all the team members.

“I watched Rick playing when I was a kid and later refereed him in Oztag,” Harrigan said.

“The boys from Sydney Magic have been training for this game for a while and are busting to take back the trophy.”